


Meetings of Happenstance

by squidgie



Category: Kindle (Amazon Commercial)
Genre: Amazon.com, Commercials, Inspired by the Amazon Kindle Commercial, Kindle, Kindle Amazon Commercial, M/M, iPad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 07:26:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18686857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squidgie/pseuds/squidgie
Summary: The vacation Gerald and his partner had been on had been great for them - until life at home fell apart.  Gerald started to as well, until his boss sent him on vacation, where he ran into an old acquaintance.





	Meetings of Happenstance

**Author's Note:**

> This is COMPLETELY out of the blue, and based on the Amazon Kindle commercial that you can find here: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY1UIES9wx8>. Okay, not totally out of the blue. I did a DreamWidth post [ here ](https://squidgiepdx.dreamwidth.org/258090.html) about how this commercial came to me after not seeing it for years, and a story unfolded. This is the result.
> 
> As point of reference, I've named the four characters in the commercial.  
> Man reading iPad: Gerald  
> Gerald's Husband (gray shirt, shades): Hudson  
> Woman reading Kindle: Rebecca  
> Rebecca's Husband (light green shirt): Dan
> 
> This is the story of Gerald and Dan, having each separated, meeting up again unexpectedly.
> 
> Also, for the comment_fic prompt: "Any, Any/Any, 'Tonight'"

The vacation Gerald and Hudson shared had been fantastic. Two full weeks of getting out of their regular routines, escaping the slush and snow that was a New York City winter. Privately, Gerald had wanted to use the time to try and reconnect with his husband, and he had. They'd even made some amazing friends back when they were on Maui, the beautiful Rebecca, who had unknowingly talked Gerald into buying a Kindle, and her husband, Dan. That night when they'd shared a couple bottles of wine, they'd even found out that Rebecca and Dan _also_ lived in Brooklyn. It was, indeed, a small world after all.

But within weeks of their vacation being over, Gerald and Hudson began to slide back into their old habits. For Gerald, that meant working a few too many hours, though he tried to make it up to Hudson on the weekends. But for Hudson, that meant drinking. A lot. And when Hudson drank, he tended to be a little loose with the rules of their relationship.

And just like the time before the big vacation, their relationship suffered. So when Gerald came home on time for once and found Hudson busy with yet another hookup, Gerald felt his blood boil. But what put him over the edge was the drug paraphernalia littered on the entryway. He sighed as he pulled out his phone and called his friends across the street, two muscle guys that had heard Gerald cry one too many times and had told him to dump Hudson. He was finally ready to listen to them. So when they came over, they sent him inside with their other neighbor Miriam so that he didn't have to watch Hudson and his latest trick being thrown out into the street. Miriam just turned the volume up when the shouting started. And he was pretty sure the crash that he'd heard was his iPad being stomped on by his now angry ex.

~*~*~

Gerald spent the next few months cleaning up the shards of his life. He buried himself in work to escape the loneliness, even while he yearned to share his bed with someone again. Time spent with his friends was good, and a perfect distraction. But at the end of the night, when he watched his neighbors go home, hand in hand, it broke his heart a little more.

Late one night, when he was going over the deposition of a client one last time, one of his law partners stepped into his office. "What are you still doing here?" she asked.

Gerald took the pencil out of his mouth. "Oh, you know," Gerald replied as he stretched back in his chair. When had he gotten so tense? And when was the last time that he'd gone to the gym? He was still in great shape but knew he could do with some downtime.

"You know it's been a year since you've taken any time off," she added as she glanced at her watch. "Maybe you should do that again." She stepped in and sat down at his desk and picked up a little stress-doll that had been squeezed practically to death. After she dropped it, giving him a curious look, she picked up the pencil that he'd just held, the wood dented with dozens of bite marks. "Jesus, Gerald. I wasn't this tense when I gave up smoking." She dropped the pencil, then crossed her arms. "Vacation. Two weeks."

"Is that an order?" he asked.

She smiled back at him. "Does it have to be?"

~*~*~

It took another six weeks for Gerald to decide where to go on vacation. Though people around the office had offered suggestions from Ibiza to Rio de Janeiro, the only remotely enjoyable place was Maui. A few people accused him of chasing old dreams, but he didn't think that. He just remembered good times with some good friends, letting only happy memories toss around his thoughts. So he dismissed the naysayers and booked a flight and hotel. He was going to enjoy himself.

The first few days were much more troubled than he'd expected, but that was because he was not just surrounded by countless couples, but he let the memories of his failed relationship haunt him. On the fourth day, he got up early and went for a swim while it was just him and mostly hotel staff moving about the grounds. He swam a couple of miles, then got out, dried off, and went to get a bottle of water. The thought of sitting out at the water for the rest of the day appealed to him, so he dropped by his room and got his Kindle, then made his way back to the grass at the edge of the resort. He got a chair nearest the beach, but yet shaded by a giant palm tree, and settled in for the duration.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

Gerald looked up, shading his eyes with the Kindle. He was about to say that it wasn't taken when memories of the handsome face flooded back to him. "Dan?" He was even wearing the same lime-green shirt that he'd been wearing the first time they'd met.

The man standing over him started, which gave Gerald the chance to _really_ look at him. Yes, it _had_ to be.

"Wait a minute. _Gerald_?" Dan sat down. "Oh my god, what are the odds?"

It was good to see a smiling face. "How the hell is it we never got together back in Brooklyn?" he asked. "That it's got to be some nameless resort on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean we get to see each other?"

Dan just smiled. 

But before he could respond, Gerald asked, "Where's Rebecca?" He looked around, not seeing her at the bar or the nearby pool.

"She's," Dan said, then blew out a sigh. "Well, I wouldn't know," he finally said, his voice quiet amongst the shouts and laughter of the other hotel guests. He went on to explain how their last vacation was supposed to have helped shore up their marriage. But instead, it was just their last vacation as a married couple. "Last I heard, she was in France."

Gerald shook his head. What were the odds? "I'm sorry, Dan," he said, putting a hand out and touching his friend on the arm as he told Dan of his own separation. "I'm really sorry we've both had to go through this."

"It's okay," Dan replied. "In a way, I figured that's where Rebecca and I were headed." He stood up and pulled the chair a little closer to Gerald. "But let's not talk about them. No reason to dwell on the past when we have such an amazing future ahead of us, right?" Dan winked at Gerald.

"I'll drink to that," Gerald said as he raised his water bottle.

"Can't cheers with water - it's bad luck," Dan said. "Let me go get us some drinks."

~*~*~

They spent the rest of the day catching up. Dan and Rebecca had been in a rental, but now that they'd separated, Dan had a couple too many roommates in a brownstone even closer to Gerald's place. He'd not wanted to, but since Rebecca had been the breadwinner of the family, he'd had to. This vacation was his last of the "splurge" money he'd put away before the divorce.

"You know," Gerald said as the sun set, painting them in yellows and oranges, "if you need a place to stay, I've got the room."

"I couldn't do that," Dan replied, even though his expression said otherwise. "It wouldn't be right."

Gerald looked at him. "I've got my own place. Own it outright. I have 2400 square feet, a maid that comes in twice a week, and rooms to spare." he smiled. "You could even use the third bedroom as a studio."

"I'd still pay you rent," Dan said, "and do whatever I can around the house to earn my keep."

There was a twinkle in his eyes, and Gerald could have sworn Dan was flirting at him. Not that he didn't mind the attention, but wasn't Dan straight? "Fine," Gerald finally said as he clinked Dan's beer with his own. "You can pay rent."

They continued to talk, even as the sun sank further and the night grew chilly on their bare, sun-kissed skin. Gerald's stomach rumbled, and he realized it'd been a few hours since either of them had eaten anything. "We should go get some dinner," he said.

Dan shook his head. "I've got some stuff in my room," he said. "I splurged a little coming here, so I'm saving what I can by making my own meals."

Gerald shook his head. "Nope, not tonight," he said as he stood up and stretched. He looked down just in time to watch Dan's eyes rake over his torso. So maybe they _were_ flirting. "Have dinner with me tonight?" He reached out his hand, which Dan took, and helped him stand. "Please?"

Dan smiled but didn't let go of his hand. He squeezed it, then leaned in and kissed Gerald on the cheek. "I'd like that."

Gerald smiled back. He threw his towel over his shoulder, then only let go of Dan's hand so that he could pick up his Kindle. When he turned back, Dan automatically retook his hand, and they walked under the shadow of a rising moon toward the resort.


End file.
